But the Earth Refused to Die
by NortheasternWind
Summary: You can't save everyone, but you've got to be able to at least save someone. As long as you remember that, you'll stay determined.
This is not an interactive story, and the second person POV is just to fit with the Undertale narration. I'm not breaking any rules! Honest!

So I wanted to jump on the OC Accompanies War bandwagon, but I really suck at creating OCs so I'm using the Undertale protagonist instead. Eventually going to be Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies AU because I love all of these characters. Disclaimer these characters are all mine MINE I SAY. If the warning applies for either Darksiders or Undertale it applies here. I'm probably not going to update this one regularly, because after "The Tale of Abaddon and Uriel" I am back to writing things completely out of order. Enjoy!

EDIT: Oh wow, I totally forgot to say. The Protagonist's backstory definitely draws from FeralPhoenix's fic "bon courage," which is terrific and you should go read it. And is also a reason why I probably won't update this regularly because I have to come up with a way to make them different enough that I won't feel bad lol.

* * *

You're on the slope of the mountain.

You're not sure how you got there, but you guess it doesn't much matter—here is where you are, and whatever put you here doesn't change the fact that you're probably gonna have to leave yourself if you want to be somewhere else.

…You wonder if you could go back. If your save file really is gone. But you decide to consider your options first.

Even if you and your friends miss each other it doesn't feel like there's much point to going back on foot: you want to save everybody, and with Asgore and the souls gone you'd just be stuck down there same as everyone else.

…You wonder where the souls went off to. You hope it's somewhere nice.

Flowey ran off somewhere and never came back, even when you waited for him. Even when you followed. You didn't think asking him if he really got rid of your save file was the best thing to do at the time, and you stand by that, but it does leave you in kind of an uncertain position.

Out here isn't like the Underground. Out here wandering alone could get you seriously hurt, but you're at a loss for what to do. So you leave, finding the road by the mountain and picking out the direction that leads back to the city. It's not wandering if you've been here before, right?

You wonder how… how they reacted when you weren't where they left you. You're not sure you should have left in the first place. But this time was taking so long, and that mountain…

Well, you're glad you did, so you decide not to think about it any longer. You're pretty good at coming up with excuses by now.

Things get stranger the closer you get though. You see a car wreck off the side of the road. It wasn't there when you came, and you think something looks a little funny about it, but you walk right past. You'll get too tired if you think about it for too long.

You see another though. And another. And before long they're as common as trees, and finally you realize what's so strange about them: they're old, covered in rust and dirt.

How long have you been gone?

Pretty soon you have to weave your way around the wrecks, and while you're too short to do it for every car you do take a moment to peek inside one: the seats are worn and moldy, and covered in something… dark.

You decide you're worried about your parents. You hope they're okay.

By the time the trees and grass thin out to concrete and buildings you're pretty sure you'd rather be back in the Underground: you haven't seen a single person yet, and looking up at the skyscrapers and the damage there you don't think you're going to.

That's when it happens. You feel a terrible chill creep down your spine. Hear a growl somewhere to your left. This isn't the Underground: you can't solve all your problems just by being nice. So when you turn to look and see _a really big monster oh no_ your first instinct is to scream and run.

It's not really a monster though, because a monster would let you go, and this one certainly doesn't. You hear it snarl behind you, and you hear claws on pavement, and you hope very fervently that your old save file really isn't gone because there's no way you're going to outrun it—

—but there's a crash behind you, and with a squeak you're thrown forward onto the ground.

The thing shrieks, but is cut off by a really gross squelching sound, and you're almost too afraid to look up. But you can't just stay on the floor: gathering up your courage, you push yourself shakily to your knees and take a breath.

You're not dead. It probably doesn't want to hurt you. Right?

You turn around.

The thing is dead. It's been cut in half, lengthwise, and you can see the halves of its spine, and its intestines oozing out, and…

You feel sick. The world goes dark.

* * *

"…believe they've lasted so long, with weak stomachs like that. How old do you think they are anyway?"

You're still sick when you wake up. You curl up into yourself, groaning—you know all about pain and blood, but nothing could have prepared you for that.

"Human."

If you get up to answer him, you'll have to look at that thing again. You shiver. But… you didn't finish your journey by giving up, did you? For the second time in just a few minutes you push yourself unsteadily to a seat, rubbing at your eyes.

"What in the world are you doing out here alone?" the first voice asks, and into your vision flits its owner: a weird, spindly-looking ghost thing, with long claws on its hands and no visible mouth. Not as weird as some of the other folks you've seen lately, but you can already tell this one doesn't much like you. "Shouldn't you be with your parents, or whoever else is looking after you?"

You shift uncomfortably at that. You think of Toriel. She would have known better than to let you look.

"I… was looking for them…" you say quietly.

When it's clear you don't want to turn around the other person steps into your vision: he's a big guy, pretty human-looking except for the silver hair and featureless blue eyes. He sort of looks like he's never done anything except scowl all his life, and he's scowling down at you right now.

"There are human survivors?" he asks.

You're silent a moment. You thought there were human survivors. But you don't think you're talking about surviving the same incident.

"Don't know," you settle on. Did the world end while you were gone…?

The big guy's scowl deepens, and the spindly thing flits over to your other side. "What do you mean, you don't know? You look like you were born yesterday. Someone had to give birth to you."

You resist the urge to look down at the ground. "Dunno where everyone went. Was normal when I left."

You look around. Most of the buildings are still standing, but otherwise they're in… pretty dismal condition. You return your gaze to your saviors to find both of them looking pretty confused.

"That's not possible," the spindly thing spits. "It's been a hundred years since the demons arrived, and you don't exactly look a hundred years old."

A hundred years… since the demons arrived. There weren't any demons around when your parents left.

…Maybe that was why they took so long to come back?

The big guy seems to take your silence as a confirmation of sorts, and his scowl evens out into something more neutral. You immediately decide you're not scared of him.

"I am War, of the Four Horsemen," he says. You've heard of the Four Horsemen before, but you don't really know much about the story, so you just nod, which seems to confuse him.

"War…" The spindly thing speaks in a tone of warning. "Don't tell me you're thinking what I think you're thinking!"

"I serve the Balance," War says, turning away. "If they are all that remains of the Third Kingdom, I cannot leave them to the demons in this world."

Spindly Thing growls, but War was already marching away, so instead he flies up into your face and you recoil instinctively.

"You'd better not get in our way, brat! Or you'll regret it…"

It disappeared in a wisp of smoke, flying back… into War's gauntlet? You never got its name…

You consider reloading your save file. The Underground was much more pleasant, and… well, now that you're here, there's a pretty good chance someone'll find out the Underground exists and destroy that too. You'll be pretty upset if something happens to all your friends.

But you said you would try and find a way out for everyone. And there isn't much point in getting out if the world above is ruined and empty.

You suck in a breath and jump to your feet, running after War.

You're filled with determination.


End file.
